


Liberté

by leighwrites



Series: Reddie Oneshots [6]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 23:15:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17671985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighwrites/pseuds/leighwrites
Summary: Eddie could hear his mother’s words in his head about how names gave people power over you, especially those who come from the magical realm. If this ‘Richie’ had his name, who knew what he could do with it from blessings to curses, or even to enslave him like his kind surely had done to others before him.





	Liberté

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a writing prompt of how you should never give a Faerie your real name. :)

The first time that Eddie met Richie was when he was no older than six years old. Eddie’s mother would often send him out of the village with a bucket to get water from the glade, and Eddie would do it quickly and quietly. He’d heard rumours in the village, some from his mother, that the glade served as some kind of a hang out spot for Faeries, and though they were the ones who gave the gift of water to humans, they didn’t take kindly to people being there too long or too noisily. 

It was his mother’s belief that her husband had taken too long once, and as punishment had been taken away. Or maybe he’d somehow offended one. Eddie quickly tied the rope to the handle of the bucket and hastily lowered it into the well, searching the clearing for signs of the Faeries, but there were none.

At least, not until he turned around to see a slightly older boy leaning forward on the other side of the well, his arms crossed over the edge and looking utterly relaxed. Eddie was not stupid. He recognized him easily even before he spotted the glimmer of wings behind him that twitched in the wind, a soft glittery dust falling from them. This was a Faerie, a creature that tricked and tormented humans. The creatures his mother had warned him were dangerous.

Except he didn’t  _ look  _ dangerous. He didn’t  _ look  _ like a kidnapper. He was smiling in a way that was so easy and contagious that Eddie  _ almost  _ smiled back. His presence was comforting and not frightening. Why did his mother think they were dangerous? Perhaps it was because humans could never understand them. And what humans didn’t understand scared them.

“Hey.” The boy greeted, the easy smile still on his face as he leaned further forward, and just when Eddie thought he would tip into the well, he caught sight of the boy’s legs hovering in the air behind him.

Eddie did not look away from the Faerie. His mother had told him that doing so would be considered an offense. Faeries were strong and powerful creatures of magic. He’d heard tales of a kingdom who had chosen to  _ not  _ invite a Faerie to their daughter’s birth and as such had suffered a terrible curse. 

Eddie would not bring that wrath upon himself. He would not risk displeasing or offending a Faerie, so he took in a breath, returning the polite smile that was still on the other’s face. “Hello.”

“I’m Richie.” The Faerie introduced, leaning further over the well and extending a hand towards him. “What’s your name?”

Eddie suspected that ‘Richie’ was nothing more than a nickname. He’d avoided giving him his birth name and Eddie could hear his mother’s words in his head about how names gave people power over you, especially those who come from the magical realm. If this ‘Richie’ had his name, who knew what he could do with it from blessings to curses, or even to enslave him like his kind surely had done to others before him.

Eddie noticed that Richie was watching him patiently, but there was no way that he would give his name over like that. It was  _ his  _ name and no one else’s. He would not have it a means of being cursed or enslaved. “I apologise, Great Faerie, but I am afraid I did not quite hear you just now, could you give me your name again?”

Richie barked out a laugh, the soft blue of his eyes almost glowing in amusement as he drew back his hand. “Nicely played, kid. You’re pretty smart, you know that, right? You should run along home now, my friends will be here soon.”

Eddie quickly retracted the bucket from the well and untied the rope, rushing from the glade. He was not aware that Richie’s attention never strayed from him; the amusement still clear in his eyes. He did not know that in just ten minutes he would be the topic of conversation once Beverly appeared in a flurry of pink glitter, shortly followed by Stanley. He had absolutely no way of knowing that he would be referred to as ‘interesting’ or ‘special’.

The only thing he would know is the loud and harsh scolding from his mother for taking too long; her words cutting him like a knife as she sobbed about how she thought that he had been taken from her just like his father had been. Eddie thought it best not to mention Richie. If Sonia were to know about what had happened, there was no way that she would let him out of the house again.

And Eddie would not be caged.

The next time Eddie met Richie, he was ten years old. Eddie had taken up the skill of art, hoping to one day make it out of this village that felt like it was suffocating him even now at the age of ten. Maybe he could become a respected artist and travel the world; just like his father had once wanted to before he’d met Sonia. There was no one in the glade and Eddie took a seat, head tilted slightly as he stared at the well before he moved the pencil to his sketchbook and started, becoming lost in his own world.

“You’re very good at that for a kid, you know.”

Eddie had jerked at the voice, making a shaky line on the page that he knew would be difficult to cover up. He didn’t dare get angry though. He didn’t dare shout at the Faerie hovering in the air behind him, watching him work over his shoulder as he muttered a quiet ‘thank you’ and started to work again.

Richie did not move from his position, and Eddie heaved a soft sigh. “Not to mean any disrespect, Richie, but I find it distracting to work with you hovering over me like that.”

Richie let out a soft chuckle and dropped out of the air, lying on his stomach next to Eddie; wings pressed against one another. “You know as good as you are, you still seem to struggle quite a bit. You’re missing something.”

“And what would it be that I am missing?” Eddie asked, pausing in his task.

It was like Richie had already planned this. He grinned and raised his closed fist, opening it slowly and blowing dust at him. Eddie blinked as the dust hit his eyes and nose, making him sneeze and rub at his eyes; dropping everything into his lap.

“What the he-”

“The gift of Artistic nature.” Richie cut over him, jumping to his feet. “You didn’t think that it just  _ happened  _ did you? Oh, silly human, you have to have Faerie blessings of which you have none for anything.”

“How could you possibly -”

Richie tapped at his temple. “Faerie instinct, kid. When a human is born they are blessed with three gifts. That’s gift number one. I gave you a present, now won’t you please give me your name?”

“I cannot  _ give  _ you my name, but I will tell you that it is Frank.” Eddie gathered up his things. “And thank you,  _ Richie _ , for almost blinding me.”

“In my defence the child is usually sleeping when we do that.” Richie called as Eddie vanished back into the trees.

He knew the name that Eddie gave him was fake. He could not see the swirl of letters above his head that should have appeared once a name was given.

“Tricky little human.”

Once a week Eddie would show up at the glade whether to collect water or practice his artistic skills. Sometimes Richie would be there, and sometimes he wouldn’t be. Richie had chuckled the first time he’d seen him again, playfully calling him a liar while also calling him clever. He did not try to get a name from him again, but he did try to get to know Eddie with casual conversation.

The human fascinated him. He was smart and tricky, just like himself. Richie liked that. Eddie made for a great friend whenever he stepped out of the magical realm and into the human one.

“So what’s your home like?” A thirteen year old Eddie who was propped up against the well asked, idly twiddling his pencil in his hand. He’d spent so much time answering all of Richie’s questions that he’d barely gotten to know the Faerie in return.

“Not much different to here, I guess.” Richie admitted. He was sitting next to Eddie, wings twitching behind him as he watched him work; truly utilizing the gift he’d given him. “Except we have dragons and unicorns.”

“I - you have  _ what  _ now?”

Richie grinned, lying back on the grass and staring up at the sky. “Dragons are like  _ really  _ big lizards with wings that can breathe fire, and unicorns are like horses, except they have a horn and they’re full of magic. And there are phoenixes - you know birds made of fire - Stan loves those. Mike’s always stopping him from burning himself trying to hug them.”

“They sound amazing.”

“They are. You could see them. You could go there… all you have to do is -”

“I cannot give you a name, Richie, but you may call me Eddie.”

Richie huffed, staring at the space above Eddie’s head where only an E and a D swirled above it. “You don’t trust me to know your name do you?”

“I do not.” Eddie confirmed, placing his hand across the page of the sketchbook. “I will not risk you cursing me. My name should not matter to you unless I have offended you, which I have not.”

Richie bolted into a sitting position, leaning close enough to Eddie that his mouth was hovering near his ear. “Have I not already proved that I can cast magic on you without a name?”

The question echoed around in Eddie’s head even when he was back home. Richie could easily curse him at any moment they were alone if he wished. Eddie did not return to the glade unless he was collecting water with his mother.

He had learned to fear Faeries.

He didn’t see Richie again until he was fifteen. Sonia had fallen ill and he was not able to talk her into heading to the glade with him and so he had gone alone. As always, he tied the rope to the handle of the bucket and lowered it into the well. He hadn’t realised he was moving slowly, something he would later realise was because a part of him  _ wanted  _ to see Richie again.

He was not thirteen anymore. The fear was still there, knowing what a Faerie could do, but Richie was no normal Faerie, that much he knew. Richie had never done anything that suggested he would harm him even when he refused to give him his name. Richie could have cursed him at any point for that if he wanted to, but he hadn’t.

Why?

Eddie had been so preoccupied thinking about the whys that he hadn’t noticed the rope slipping from his fingers until it was completely gone, the bucket falling into the well with a loud splash.

“ _ Fuck _ .” Eddie hissed, leaning over the edge quickly to try and grab the rope to no avail. “Son of a fucking -”

“Wow, and Bev says  _ I  _ have a trashy mouth.”

Eddie’s head shot up to find Richie laying on the little roof that covered the well, his chest and head hanging off it towards him. “Richie...”

Richie smiled, tapping his fingers against the edge of the roof almost nervously. “Hey. I uh… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you away all that time ago. I didn’t - it was not a threat. It was merely me pointing something out. I would never - I could never do that. Not to you.”

“I know.” Eddie assured, smiling up at him. “I overreacted. My mother said that you’re bad creatures. That if you feel offended you curse people for the fun of it.”

Richie frowned, gripping at the edge of the roof and pushing himself into an impressive backflip; landing in a less than graceful manner next to Eddie. “Sounds like something aunt would do.” He waved a hand at the well, reaching out and snapping his hand around the rope, which he handed to Eddie. “What does your mother base this on?”

Eddie took the rope from him, trying not to focus on how warm he felt when his hand brushed Richie’s, focusing on retrieving his bucket. “My dad, Frank, he… he came here to get water once and he never came back. She thinks he offended one of you or stayed too long and was cursed because of it… that he was stupid enough to hand over his name.”

A look crossed Richie’s face that Eddie had never seen before; almost like he was contemplating something before he spoke. “Would it help if you knew that he was alive and well?”

“Such a pleasant lie...” Eddie said, untying the rope and grabbing the bucket and crossing the clearing.

“It’s... not a lie. He’s in my realm.”

Eddie stopped at the edge of the clearing, clutching the handle of the bucket tightly and turning back to Richie who was still staring into the depths of the well. “Why do you take people away? Why did you take  _ him _ away?”

Richie exhaled, the sound soft as he turned towards Eddie. “They ask us to. Frank asked my dad to take him away and he did. Your mother is a suffocating presence who almost doused his light. It’ll be the same for you.”

“If you’re so worried why haven’t you just taken me away?”

Richie tucked his hands into his pockets, his wings giving the slightest flicker. “You did not ask, and the price of admission is -”

“My name.” Eddie realised, almost dropping the bucket.

“Sorry, kid.”

Eddie was eighteen when he next saw Richie. Sonia had been keeping him under village lock down, hiring another to get the water for them. She claimed that Eddie took far too long whenever he would go there, and Eddie wondered if she knew that he had met and become close friends with the very thing that she hated and was afraid of. When asked, Sonia would smile and pet his head while telling him that his long periods of time in the glade increased his chances of offending one of the Fae.

His brain screamed  _ liar _ but he obeyed her regardless.

He would never know that an agitated Richie, who had become worried about his sudden lack of appearance, had almost burned himself trying to cross the barrier of the forest until Stanley had pulled him back roughly and healed his hand. They were woodland creatures by blood and not allowed to step foot into the towns in the human realm; only their forests unless invited elsewhere.

So Richie would wait for Eddie; perched on the little well of the roof as he looked for signs of blonde emerging from the trees. He would be disappointed whenever the person who emerged was just a regular visitor and not Eddie, and then he would give up whenever night fell and return home.

He never understood why.

It was a night nearing winter when he finally saw the eighteen year old Eddie. He had climbed to his feet on the roof, ready to go home another day when he heard the shout of his name. Richie turned sharply and jumped down seconds before Eddie came bursting through the trees.  He didn’t stop. Not until he’d crashed into Richie’s chest and curled his arms around him, fingers clutching at the back of his shirt.

He didn’t have time to ask before another showed up, drunk and radiating murderous intent. He could feel Eddie shaking, pressing himself more into Richie; face buried against his chest. Richie raised a hand and pressed it to the back of Eddie’s head, soothing his fingers through the soft blonde hair.

“Give him here.” Eddie’s pursuer ordered. “That little sh-”

Richie’s wings gave a twitch, glimmering as the dust shifted and fell from them. “Shut up.”

Eddie had never heard such a cold tone from Richie before. The other human had fallen silent. He hadn’t noticed where he was until now. Even drunk out of his mind he knew to respect a creature who could destroy him with a quick snap of his fingers. Richie wasn’t interested in that though. His attention was fixed on the shaking Eddie in his arms and the way his fingers sank further into his shirt.

“Leave.”

Eddie heard the scamper of footsteps as his pursuer fled the glade. He didn’t understand what had possessed him to run into the forest at first, but now he understood. He felt safer here with Richie who was not of his kind more than he ever had in the village with his own. Richie, who allowed him to cling to him without asking anything in return; not even for his name which he so desperately desired.

“Thank you.” Eddie mumbled against Richie’s chest, slowly relaxing his grip on the shirt.

Richie let out a soft chuckle, threading his fingers into Eddie’s hair. “I’d never let you get hurt. I will always keep you safe.”

Eddie believed him, and everything he knew from his mother about Faeries ebbed away. They were not dangerous or evil. They were just  _ them _ . Good and evil did not exist to them. They just did whatever was right for them. Eddie had finally stopped shaking, but Richie didn’t release him even when he took a step back.

“I know.”

“So  _ now  _ will you -”

Eddie cut Richie off by surging upwards and connecting their mouths. His hands were clutching at the back of Richie’s shirt again. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to kiss the Faerie. It just  _ felt right _ , and Richie seemed to agree, his hands settling onto Eddie’s waist and pulling him closer. Every brush of their lips was soft and firm.

Right up until the point he pulled away, a smile present on his face. “If I tell you that one day I will give you my name… when I am  _ really  _ ready to leave this place, would that be enough?”

Richie raised a hand to Eddie’s face, brushing his thumb against his cheek with a soft smile. “When that day comes, I’ll give you my own, too.”

Eddie came to the glade more often now, usually at night. They would sit by the well and talk. Eddie told him things he couldn’t tell his mother. He told him how he felt like the village was starting to suffocate him and he desperately wanted to be free. He was not ready to leave though. He still felt too young to do so.

Richie listened, and he finally understood why he was so patient with this one human. Why he’d never once given in to the temper that Faeries were known for. He genuinely cared about Eddie. He would wait a lifetime for his name if he had to.

For now he just allowed himself to lie next to Eddie in the glade, staring up at the dark sky and listening to him talk, answering questions about his realm if they came up. Eddie’s will to stay in this town was slowly cracking more each day. His mother kept him locked up and Eddie would sneak out when he was sure she was sleeping, taking off into the forest and meeting up with Richie.

They would talk and kiss, their hands always laced together between them. The glade had become a sanctuary for Eddie. A place he was free from his mother and her suffocating presence. Eddie understood why his father had needed to leave, and that he probably hadn’t wanted to leave  _ him  _ behind, but Faeries could only take one at a time, and only if they asked.

Eddie had been close to giving Richie his actual name many times, but the little voice in his head reminded him not to do that. Understanding and being ready were two different things. Eddie may have understood his father better now, but he was not ready to leave, and he would not be ready for a while yet.

“There you are, birthday boy!” Richie greeted one night when Eddie emerged into the glade. He was twenty now, and both his mother and the village had suffocated him more. Richie could see the fire that burned in Eddie grow weaker every day. The light inside of him was slowly being doused. “What’s wrong?”

“She - my mother - she’s - she’s becoming a little more suffocating.” Eddie confessed, attaching himself to Richie once he was close enough. “Richie… I - she knows I sneak out. She’s decided she’s going to try and marry me off.”

Richie felt his heart slow. “If she does that -”

“I’ll never be able to see you again. I know. This village is going to kill me.”

“It doesn’t have to. You -”

“I know but -”

“You’re still not ready to leave everything you know.” Richie finished, reaching out and taking Eddie’s hands. “Well, let’s not worry about that right this moment. Today is your birthday and I’d rather focus on that.”

Eddie smiled. He appreciated that Richie didn’t want to talk about it. That he didn’t want to focus on what might or might not happen soon. He just wanted to live in the moment. Richie had started to sway him at some point, and Eddie wasn’t sure when he’d zoned out staring into the soft blues of Richie’s eyes, but when he came back to reality he realised that they were dancing, a slow soothing step despite the fact there was no music.

“How do you know how to dance?”

Richie grinned. It was not mischievous or full of trickey. But he did not answer either. He’d opened his mouth, and it looked as though he was about to say something that was important before he closed it again, smiling and looking down at their feet. “You should pay more attention to other things, my love.”

Fighting the heat that attempted to creep its way onto his face at the name, Eddie looked down at their feet to find that he was no longer standing on the ground but floating on the air with only Richie to hold him up.

He looked back up at Richie, eyes wide. “Richie -”

Richie was smiling, softly, and his grip tightened on Eddie’s hand and waist. “Do you trust me?”

Eddie couldn’t help but return the smile. “Always.”

Richie grinned and took a step back, twirling him in the air. Eddie’s hand didn’t tighten in Richie’s and he was met with a pleased and fond look on Richie’s face once he was facing him again. Richie leaned in to kiss him, keeping it slow and soft as they floated back to the ground, feet meeting the grass with a soft thump.

That was the first time Eddie truly gave himself to someone, right there in the glade until his body shook and trembled with the euphoric feeling of being complete and drowning in pleasure; his body clinging to Richie’s. They were both covered in a sheen of sweat and sparkling dust that glimmered in the moonlight but neither of them cared.

Eddie soon realised he would come to care when he finally made it home to see his mother awake, questioning where he’d been and why he was covered in Faerie dust. Not even her harsh guilt tripping words could ruin the light and fire that had sparked back up inside of Eddie.

He wouldn’t be staying here forever anyway.

Sonia had taken to keeping Eddie under lock and key. He was not allowed to leave the house unless she was there to watch him, and Eddie wondered if there was a time she had done this to his father, and if he’d one day snapped and found a way to break out and run to his freedom. She informed him he would be married soon. That she has picked out a lovely young woman for him in a neighbouring village; the daughter of the mayor. 

_ It’s for your own good.  _ She’d said.

It is not for his own good. Eddie does not want that. He will never want that.

All he wants is Richie.

But he was not allowed that. His mother had already made the arrangements for him to marry Myra. She was nice enough on their first meeting at her home, but she was not what he wanted. Eddie would always want Richie and the freedom and security he offered.

It was on their fifth meeting that Eddie had overheard his mother talking to Myra’s father. She called him addled, said that he was under the spell of a Faerie and needed a good,  _ proper  _ wife to break him out of it; to expel the Faerie magic from him and turn him into a good husband.

If anyone in their family was addled it was her.

Eddie was twenty-three when he was ready. Myra had made a big deal about courting and dates to try and help him with his affliction before they married, but there was nothing to help. Eddie’s soul would always scream for freedom and he would look longingly at the forests, wanting to break free from his mother’s chains.

Sonia had left him to get ready for his wedding alone, patting his cheek in a ‘loving’ way and telling him that she would meet him there at the church. Eddie stared at himself in the mirror, gnawing at his lower lip. She had finally left him alone and it was now or never.

Eddie ran.

He ran through the thicket of trees, slowing to a jog as he approached the glade. It was empty, of course. Eddie figured that Richie had not arrived yet today or had given up on waiting over the last three years. Still he tried.

“Richie?”

And Richie was suddenly there, standing in front of him with relief and worry on his face. It was in that moment that Eddie knew. Richie had never given up. He had come here every day and waited. He waited to hear the sound of his name fall from Eddie’s mouth. It was a sound that Richie loved.

“Well don’t we look fancy?” Richie teased as if they’d only seen each other just the day before.

Eddie groaned, and then a grin came to his face. “Hello, Great Faerie, I am told this is where people come to be set free.”

He knew now; what they did with the name. They used it to set them free.

Richie arched a brow, an amused smile coming to his face. He played along despite his confusion, feeling like he already knew where this was going. “Indeed, you have been told correctly.”

Eddie stepped closer, and Richie could see it in his eyes. He was ready. “Well, Great Faerie. My name is Edward and I’ve come to ask to be set free.”

Richie felt his heart stop if only for a few moments, watching the letters that swirled above Eddie’s head.  _ Edward _ . He reached out and swept a hand at the letters, watching them fade into dust. Eddie didn’t need to see them to know what had happened. Richie had taken the name, but not in a literal sense, and there was now a scroll held in Richie’s hand at his side.

A contract.

“I suppose, Edward, that it’s only fair I keep my side of the promise and tell you my own.” Richie said, tucking the scroll into his cloak. He reached out, grabbing Eddie’s hand and bringing it to his mouth. “My name is Richard, and as much as I hate it I am required by my laws to say that I am in fact… royalty, I suppose.”

“You  _ suppose _ ?” Eddie repeated, a teasing edge to his voice.

“Fine, okay, I  _ am _ .”

“That’s how you knew how to dance?”

“Beverly is a fantastic teacher. Gets it from her mother.” Richie extended a hand towards Eddie. “Well, Edward, it is time for us to leave. I do not wish to stay here more than I have to, you’ve already had me waiting here for over ten years. Your father said this would be difficult, but he never said you would be damn near  _ impossible. _ ”

“My father sent you?”

“He sent me to watch over you whenever you appeared here. He did not give me a name. He couldn’t. But he did tell me that you would give me his and that you might give me other fake names until you were ready, just as he had done. Falling in love with you was just a really big upside.”

Eddie reached out and took the hand. Richie grinned wider, pulling Eddie towards him and bringing him into a deep kiss, the world around him fading.

He did not know what the people back in the village would think when he didn’t show up for his wedding and nor did he care. All that mattered was he would be free.

It was a feeling that, though he knew it was there, wouldn’t  _ fully  _ sink in until he woke to a finely decorated room that was clearly not his own, curled up in a large bed next to Richie; covered in the familiar glittering faerie dust with the memory of roaming hands, soft kisses and intense pleasure.

And in the days that followed, Eddie would come to understand the truth behind giving his name to a Faerie - to Richie. It was more than just freedom as he had thought it was in that glade on his wedding day when he had finally handed it over. You could not live in the magical realm without magic, and to get magic you had to be listed in the book of the Fae. 

There was no trickery behind it. All they had ever wanted was to free humans from their limited lives and open their eyes to the wonders of everything, but not all of them were worthy of this. Faeries found the ones who were and took them away, but only when the human trusted them enough, believed them so strongly that they would hand over their name to receive the magic that the Faeries wanted to give.

In the  _ months  _ that followed, Eddie would be reunited with his father who looked no older than the last time Eddie had seen him - the day before he had vanished from the human realm never to return. Magical things did not become frail and old creatures that died. Not here in this realm. That would only happen if he returned to the human realm.

Eddie would choose to stay with Frank and learn to use the gift that Richie had given him the moment he’d given him his name, and Richie would fully understand. They had forever anyway, and he would visit Eddie as often as he could; two or maybe three times a week. They would grow stronger and more in love and Eddie would be subjected to teasing and knowing looks whenever he would return home from dates with dust in his hair or on his clothes.

And in the years that followed they would marry, and that feeling of freedom would never falter.


End file.
